Avika continued her journey. Still shaken to core, she managed to not fall again. As she slowly traversed through the roads, she tried to remember reasons why she wanted to visit it.

The myth surrounding the fair had fascinated her. People who had visited it, forgot whatever they saw there. Every single person who was asked about it, had no memory of what happened in there. All they remembered was they went in, and they came out. Almost half of the village adults had gone there the first time it was held. They came back all high and happy, but within two years, they all had died. Some thought it was Night Fair, but others thought it was epidemic that had broken out that year. She believed it was the epidemic. Why would they die two years later?

The other half never went. Too scared. The children who went were perfectly fine. Or that's what everyone says. The other four Night Fairs held, were visited by only six people. All those six people were old, so it couldn't be predicted whether they died because of Night Fair or disease each of them was facing.

The only exception was her great grandmother, Naanai.

Naanai remembered everything. Partially because she was half-witch. And partially because she was blessed with the power that no one can make her forget things. The downside, she had gone insane. Her human side couldn't handle things she had seen, dark scary things. For days, she used to behave boorishly, run here and there chanting weird mantras, cooking things that no one could eat and even uprooting half of the forest.

Naanai died when Avika was seven. Seven years after she had visited the Night Fair. When Avika was six, Naanai had told her everything. Naanai used to say, "Avika, the witch-soul which skipped two generations, is in you. But just like me, you are cursed to remember things." Her voice was filled with bitterness. Her face was scrunched, the wrinkles deeper than usual.

"Remember," Naanai said, after completing the tale of Night Fair, "You must find her. Only she can erase the damage. Find the black comb. That's all you had to do."

Avika heaved a sigh. Her dithering mind was torn between what to do. The scene with Tania had scared her. But she had promised Naanai to complete the task once she was fifteen. And since she still considered as a child, she won't be harmed by the Night Fair. All that taking risk, feeling, breathing, living was just to visit and enjoy Night Fair. Back then, when she took the decision, she though finding the comb would be so easy. And then she could enjoy the Night Fair.

But...

Tania. The scene kept repeating in her mind, making her feel miserable. She wasn't one of those brave heroes or heroines of those fantasy books who could whip a sword, take courageous decisions, and be brave and go through all that crap.

Brave. She bitterly laughed. Leaning against one of the trees, she thought about it. Fifteen years of her life, she ran. Naanai died, she pretended she was still alive until the pain disappeared. Or numbed. Her grades dropped down, she blamed on her friends. Probably, running was her favorite thing.

And guess what, she was going to run this time also. The winds howled as if disagreeing with her decision. The roads mocked her, and the stones through which she made through the panic attack, made a disappointed face. She muttered, "Stop. I am taking the right decision. I can't do what Naanai has told me to do. I am too scared for that, and if Tania was just the beginning, I can't-won't go through and face all those horrors. Plus it no longer feels intresting or risky, just stupid."

Straightening up, she jerked her cloak. She felt as if she was doing wrong, but she was too coward to change her decision.

Before she could take the road back to her home, the winds picked, the trees swayed dangerously, and mist began to descend. She gulped, fear settling in her bones. She waved her hands, trying to see through the mist. Panic clawed its way back to her heart, and she almost screamed.

The mist began to clear. Shocked, she just stared at the person standing in front of her. Scratch that. Ghost standing in front of her. Naanai's ghost.